Uchaya udun (lit. "teahouse palace") was a "detached palace" of the Ryukyuan royalty. As it was located in the eastern part of the Shuri castle compound, it was often alternatively known simply as "the eastern garden," a name given it by Qing envoy Wang Ji in 1683.[1]
It is said to have first been built in 1677 by King Shô Tei, as a place to entertain visiting envoys from China and Satsuma han. The garden was in a distinctively Ryukyuan style, and included a viewing tower and tearoom. It was destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, but efforts to petition to have it rebuilt continue.
References
- "Uchaya udun," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
- ↑ Liao Zhenpei 廖真珮, "Ryûkyû kyûtei ni okeru Chûgoku kei ongaku no ensô to denshô" 琉球宮廷における中国系音楽の演奏と伝承, in Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 100.